Emergency-exit.



EMERGENCY EXIT.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 8. 1915.

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G. LABRIE.

EMERGENCY EXIT.

APPLlcAloN FILED Nov. 8. 1915.

l l Patented June 20, 1916.

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GEORG-F. LABRIE, OFILAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

EIv'IERGENCY-EXIT.

Application led'ovember 8, 1915.

.To @ZZ lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE Immun, a citizen of Canada, residing at Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State oi' Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Emergenoy-Exits, oi' which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to emergency exits from buildings and to the doors used in connection therewith. Its principal purpose is to so arrange outwardly opening doors that they can be opened from the outside or front only with great difficulty, if at all, but can be readily opened from the inside or back when sufficient force or pressure is applied thereto.

My exit is especially adapted for theaters, schools, factories and other places where large numbers of people congregate and may be so arranged that it can be locked from the back at nightl or ywhenffew people are in the building and can be unlocked but kept closed by my device when the building is tull of people.

In the preferred form of my device the amount oi pressure required to open the doors can be regulated and the elastic member or bar is so arranged that it will tightly close the crack between thetwo doors thereby keeping out wind, rain and cold.

lVIy device comprises an opening in the wall, preferably rectangular, with two doors hinged'therein at their outside vertical edges in such a manner that their inside vertical edges will be adjacent. The hinges or pivots are placedat the front side, and back of these near the back of one door, is a slidable member which, when the doors are closed beyond the dead center line between the pivots, is held in elastic engage ment with the adjoining inside edge of the other door at a point or line near its backside.

' In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the outside of a building showingthe front of the wall and of the doors. Fig. 2 is an elevation from the back or from the inside of the building. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section viewed from the top on line X-Y of Fig. 2. Fig. Ll is a detail of the spring construction. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section as on line S-T vof' Fig. 2 enlarged and also shows the pivots or hinges. Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5 of a modiiied construction. Fig. 7 is a similar view of an- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 2.0, 1916.

Serial No. 60,404.

other modification andFig. 8 is still another modification.

A represents the wall of a building in which is a rectangular opening B around which is preferably a casing C having a top 10, bottom 11 andy side edges 12 and 13. To the front side of this opening are pivoted the twodoors E and F by means of hinges or pivots 20, 20, Q11, 2l, attached to the front of the outside vertical edge of each door and to the front side of the opening. By the outside vertical edge of each door, I refer tothe vertical `edges 22, 23- which are opposite from the inside edges 24 and 25.

I prefer that my doors should be of substantial! thickness andthat the vertical edges thereof 22 and 28 should be cut at right angles to the pla-ne ofv the doors so that they will strike the sides "12 and 13 of opening B and will thereby limit or help to limit the backwardmovement of the doors when they are closed. I also prefer-'to attach moldings 14A, 15 and 16 to the sides and top of opening B- in a plane whose position will determine the backward movement of the doors. These moldings and the action `of the vertical edges of each door in striking the'inside oi the opening 'serve as stops to-limit the backward movement of' the doors. l

In Figs. 1 to13 and 5, I show the door E extended back by meansfof a block or strip 30which extends parallel with its inside vertical edge. In'this par-tl ofthe door is a vertical groove' 31 which extends along its insideV edge near its back side andV ad"- joining the inside edge ol the other door. The other door F is extended baclnvard` by means of a vertical box 32 the inside of which forms'a vertical guideway 33 which extends along the inside edge'of the door near its back side adjoining the irst described door. In this guideway 33 is a vertical member or bar 34 horizontally slidable therein andI which has a shoulder 35 which when the doors are closed as shown in Fig. 5, extends beyond'l the inside edge 24 of the other .door E. Bar 34.- also has a tongue 36 which is adapted to loosely engage groovel when the doors are closed.

I prefer to supporttbar 34 against vertical displacement by passingithereinto through horizontal slots 18 inl box 3Q. the headed screws 19.

' As adjustable means for elastically forcing bar toward'door E, I use thesprings in groove3lwhen. the doors are swung, I

i0 which may be Vof the well known carriage type bowed 'in the middle and having slots 41 through which pass headed screwsV 42 into bar 3i. To increase or decrease the tension, I, preferably attach threaded metal bowed part of springs 40 and are swiveledV lthereon as shownjat 45.- By turning the set screwsV 44, the tension betweentongue 36 and-groove 31, when the doors are closed, can be increased or decreased.

Inorder vthat the tongue 36 shall not bind prefer to enlarge the mouth of the groove at the front and to make both tongue and groove wider than their depth or half round as shown.

-In connectionV with my'doors, I prefer to provide, at their back or inside, fastening means suoli aschains ,50 attached thereto and detachableffrom hooks 5l fastened to the floor H.v` By means of these, in a factory'at'niglit or'ina theater in the day time when there arefew if any people assembled,

the .doors maybe locked in position,'while,

' when people congregate, theV chains may be released allowing the doorsto be held in position by the pressure of the springs 40 which together with the bar V34 forman elastic member which yieldably engages the inner edge of theV other door E near the back sidel thereof.

The tension on the `elastic member may be increased'or decreased by means of the adjustable means which are setscrews l-i,

and in' order tov open the doorsY to the front,

the elasticemember must be forced back until its point of Contact with the other doorispushed frontward beyond the dead lcenter line between the pivots of the doors.

Vdoors from the front, they Acan ybe opened if -at all with great'difficulty, while in case of a] panic or other emergency wherein a crowd'of people wish to pass through from thefbac'k, the force of their weight against the back ofthe doorsjwill overcome the resistance ofthe elastic member thus opening the doors and providing ready exit.

In the construction shown in Fig..V `6, the pivots 20 and 21 are located in the same position but the doors K and L have no block like 30 nor boxlike 32. Along the inside vertical edge 80 of door K near the back side thereof is a slot 81 and reinforcing plate 52, while along the inside edge 53 of door L near the back sidethereof is a groove '54 which with plate 55 forms a vertical means of set screws (51 which pass through suitable fixed plates (32 and can be reached for adjustment through holes (33 in plate 55. The inside edge of bar 5G forms a tongue 57 which enters groove 51.

Fig. 7 shows another modification wherein block 82 forms part of door E and is similar'to 30 except that it has no groove. Box 32 forms part of door F and in the guideway formed thereby slides a bar or elastic member 83 which is similar to 3i except that it has no tongue. The operation is substantially the same.

F'g. Sshows another modification in which a block 84 forms part of door E while to the back side of a block (Si which forms part of door F are attached one or more eyes which serve as guideways for a bar or elastic member 6G slidable therein. This member is shown as having a collar G7 fixed thereto between which and one of the guide members G5 is a compression spring 68 which makes the member elastic where-- by it `will yieldably engage the inside edge of the other door near the back side thereof.

In all forms, the back of the inside adjoining edges of the doors should be cut away to clear eachother when the doors are being opened, while the fro-nt of these edges may touch when, the doors are closed, thus mak.- ing a very tight joint.

The tongue and groove are preferably so located, that as shown by the dotted position in Fig. 5, they will be the first parts to engage, after which they will keep the doors in correct relation as they are being closed.

I claim:

l. An emergency exit which comprises a wall having an opening, combined with two doors each pivoted at the front of its outside vertical edge to the front side of the opening one of said doors having a vertical groove which extends along its inside edge near its back side and adjoining the inside edge of the other door, said other door having a vertical guide way which extends along its inside edge near its back side adjoining the first described door, a vertical bar horizontally slidable in said guide way and having a shoulder which when the doors are closed extends beyond the inside edge of the other door and a tongue adapted to engage the said groove, adjustable means for elastically forcing the bar toward the first named door, and stops to limit the backward movement of the doors.

2. An emergency exit which comprises a wall having an opening, combined with two doors each pivoted at the front of its outside vertical edge to the front side of the opening one of said doo-rs having a vertical groove which extends along its inside edge near its back side and adjoining the inside edge of the other door, said other door having a vertical guide way which extends along its inside edge near its back side adjoining the first described door, a vertlcal bar horizontally shdable 1n said guide way and having a tongue adapted to engage the said groove, and means for elastically fore ing the bar toward the first named door.

3. An emergency exit which comprises a wall having an opening, combined with two doors each pivoted at the front of its outside vertical edge to the front side of the opening one of said doors having a vertical groove which extends along its inside edge near its back side and adjoining the inside edge of the other door, said other door having a vertical guide way which extends along its inside edge near its back side adjoining the first described door, a vertical bar horizontally slidable in said guide way and having a tongue adapted to engage the said groove, and adjustable means for elastically forcing the bar toward the first named door.

4. An emergency exit which comprises a wall having an opening, combined with two doors each pivoted at the front of its outside vertical edge to the front side of the opening one of said doors having a vertical groove which extends along its inside edge near its back side and adjoining' the inside edge of the other door, said other door having a Vertical guide way which extends along its inside edge near its back side adjoining the first described door, a vertical bar horizontally slidable in said guide way and having a tongue adapted to engage the said groove, means for elastically forcing the bar toward the first named door, and stops to limit the backward movement of the door.

5. An emergency exit which comprises a wall having an opening, combined with two doors each pivoted at the front of its outside vertical edge to the front side of the opening, one of said doors having a vertical guide way which extends along its inside edge near its back side, a vertical bar horizontally slidable in said guide way and adapted to engage the inside edge of the other door near the back side thereof, means for elastically keeping the bar in engagement with said other door when the doors are closed, and stops to limit the backward movement of the doors. Y

6. The combination with a wall having an opening, of two doors each pivoted at its outer edge to the front side of said opening so that their inner edges are adjacent, an elastic member so attached to the back side of one door that it will yieldably engage the inside edge of the other door near the back side thereof when the doors are closed so as to bring it back of the dead center line between the pivotal points of said doors, and stops to limit the backward movement of the doors.

In testimony whereof I hereto aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

his GEORGE LABRIE. mark Htnesses HENRY RAGo'r, HARRY R. LAURENCE.

Copier of thm patent may be obtained for five cents eeeni by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C." 

